Mad Dragon gets out of prison and marries a beautiful CEO.

Chapter 109

"Mr. Chen means..." Xiaowen looked at his back and seemed to understand what he meant.

"I suggest we go to a coffee shop, where we can chat more relaxed and comfortable. I'll talk to her myself, and I'm sure she'll give me face," Chen Li said confidently.

Of course, she could also refuse to give him face, and Ah Kun would help her regain it.

Chen Li arrived early at a high-end coffee shop across from the company. Several potted plants were placed at the entrance, and the booths and warm lighting could be seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He chose a corner seat, put his phone on the table, and ordered an Americano.

Light music is like a massage for the mind.

Looking out the window at the bustling street, I felt a sense of relaxation.

The so-called relaxation and enjoyment comes from comparing oneself with the busy and boring lives of others; it is a kind of psychological satisfaction.

Therefore, the spiritual aspect is the prerequisite, while the material aspect is secondary.

The agreed time was 3:15.

At 3:10, a girl appeared at the door.

He was not tall, wore a beige baseball cap with the brim pulled low, and a loose light blue knit sweater and dark jeans.

She pushed open the glass door and brought in a gust of wind, causing the wind chimes on the door to tinkle twice.

The moment Su Wan took off her hat, her face looked thinner than in the photo.

Her features weren't large, but they were well-defined. Her brow bones were slightly high, and the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned. She was wearing no makeup, only a light layer of lipstick.

She glanced around the coffee shop, her gaze settling on a corner spot. Then she walked over and sat down opposite Chen Li.

"Mr. Chen? Sorry to keep you waiting. I was stuck in traffic and got back late."

Her voice was lower than I expected, with a slightly raspy, grainy quality, as if she hadn't fully recovered from overusing her voice.

After she sat down, she put her baseball cap upside down on the edge of the table and casually tucked a strand of hair that had fallen across her cheek behind her ear, a movement so natural it seemed like a habitual little gesture.

"Just arrived." Chen Li pushed the menu over. "What would you like to drink?"

Hot latte, less sugar.

Su Wan glanced at the menu and closed it, her gaze falling on Chen Li's face as if she were sizing him up.

Her gaze wasn't sharp, but it carried the unique observational ability of an artist accustomed to dealing with people. She would look into your eyes first, then observe your movements, and only then speak.

"Xiaowen always told me about you, saying that you are a major shareholder of Harmony Hospital and that you helped Sister Hong solve her problems in Shanghai." A slight smile played on her lips. "To be honest, I'm quite curious. How can a doctor be involved in entertainment company affairs?"

She was testing him, trying to understand his deeper background, which would be crucial for the conversation that followed.

Chen Li picked up his Americano and took a sip:

"I'm not really involved, I'm just lending a hand to a friend."

"Sister Hong knows my friend, and Xiao Wen helped Sister Hong, so we ended up here."

As for this friend, even if he doesn't say it, he would probably guess that it's President Mu Ningshuang.

If she couldn't figure it out, then she overestimated the woman's intelligence.

Su Wan nodded, and the waiter brought over a latte and placed it in front of her.

"Mr. Chen asked me out to discuss my contract renewal, right?"

Su Wan put down her cup and looked over calmly:

"Then I won't beat around the bush. I'll just say my thoughts directly. If you can accept them, we can continue talking. If not, then that's fine."

Hearing his words, Chen Li knew that she didn't understand him at all, or more accurately, she didn't understand the world of Yuncheng.

He wasn't angry.

After all, she was a red carp in the martial arts world, while he was the big hand that stirred up the waves.

"you say."

Chen Li displayed excellent manners, taking a sip of coffee.

Su Wan placed her hands on the table, her fingers interlaced. Her fingers were slender, and her nails were short and neatly trimmed, without any manicure.

"My family lives in a small fishing village in the south. I have six siblings, and I am the third oldest."

"Now the two eldest children are working, but the younger siblings still need to go to school, and my parents are too old to do heavy work, so the main expenses of the family still depend on me."

She didn't look away as she spoke, her eyes filled with sincerity:

"So for me, income is not just income, it's my family's livelihood."

"Whether I switch jobs or renew my contract, my first consideration is stability."

"If I go to an unreliable place and something goes wrong after three or six months, I can't afford the trouble."

Chen Li did not interrupt her and listened quietly.

Secondly…

Su Wan tapped her fingers lightly on the rim of the glass twice, hesitated, and then said:

"There are problems within Xinghai Entertainment."

"Mr. Chen may not know that I have encountered several inexplicable things at the company in the past year. Announcements were canceled at the last minute, quotes from partners were intercepted in the middle, and someone even impersonated me to contact the brand."

"Xiaowen either doesn't know about these things, or she knows but hasn't found out."

"But I can sense that someone is targeting me, and it's right here within the company."

Chen Li asked:

Whom do you suspect?

Su Wan shook her head:

"I have no evidence. But after working in the workplace for a long time, you know who's nice to you and who's putting you down."

"The reason I'm considering leaving isn't because the conditions outside are so much better, but because I'm not comfortable staying in Xinghai anymore."

"If you feel uncomfortable for too long, you'll want to go somewhere else to catch your breath."

Chen Li asked her, "What about Xiaoran Media?"

Su Wan paused for a moment.

She picked up her latte, took a sip, and unconsciously ran her thumb along the rim of the cup as she put it down.

"Xiao Ran's offer is indeed good, with flexible profit-sharing ratios, and they promised to let me open my own studio."

"But Mr. Chen, I'm not a fool."

"I've been in this industry for a few years and I've heard a lot about the background of Xiaoran Media."

"Money from the underworld is not easy to take; once you take it, it's hard to get out."

Her gaze was fixed on Chen Li:

"I'm in an awkward position right now. Li Family Entertainment offers high prices but is very controlling. Xiaoran Media has good conditions but its background is not clean. Xinghai Entertainment has been kind to me and I have feelings for them, but there are people within the company trying to undermine me."

"I want to find a place where I can work with peace of mind, where I have more freedom than I do now, but where I don't have to sell myself into a fire pit."

Chen Li leaned back in his chair and looked at her.

Her words were clearly articulated, each layer revealing genuine and specific considerations and concerns, rather than the excuses often used by celebrities.

Her honesty made him realize that she had already considered all the options in her mind, and all she needed was a compelling reason to make a decision.

"You've said so much," Chen Li began, "so what do you hope I can do for you?"

Su Wan tilted her head slightly, and the curve of her lips deepened a little.

As if she had been waiting for the question she wanted to ask, she leaned forward slightly, lowered her voice, and spoke with a seriousness that bordered on bluntness:

"There's a variety show called 'Star Project' that's been confirmed to have several A-list celebrities participating."

"Xiao Ran signed one, and the Li family also signed one."

"These two people's teams once suppressed me in the same project, and the methods they used were not clean."

She looked at Chen Li, her eyes calm and direct:

"If I can get on this show and outdo them, I won't need them to apologize or compensate me for anything."

"The audience has discerning eyes. On the same stage, they can tell at a glance who performs well and who performs poorly, who is putting their heart into it and who is putting on airs."

"I just want to prove that I can still stand in that position, and that I can stand more firmly than they do."

"Why shouldn't I rely on Xinghai to help me fight for it?"

"Because Xiaowen is always a very good manager, but her energy is all inside the company, and she doesn't have much control over external resources."

"She can run the company well, but she can't help me gain a foothold in the outside world."

"What I need is someone who can stand with me and face those people outside."

She finished speaking, leaned back in her chair, took a sip of her latte, and waited for his response.